Project #15 Portraits without Fear

I started using this technique for adult students who wanted to create art but were sure they had not talent or skill.  

Anyone can learn to draw or paint.  It helps to learn some basic skills and to practice.  It is also very important for young and old students alike not to worry about whether their drawings and paintings look like other people's.  Everyone has their own style.  The most important thing about making art is to find the techniques that work best for your style.  It may take some time to master or feel comfortable learning those techniques.  

Professional artists practice all of the time and do not like everything they make.  It is okay to make mistakes and okay to  give up on a piece and put it away to work on later or reuse it in another way.

For my Portraits without Fear classes, we started with pieces of matte mylar, duralar or clear Yupo that allow you to trace the contour lines from a photograph.  Trace all of the contour lines that you think you will need, that may be a few or many if your photograph has a lot of tiny detail.  You can trace with colored pencil or graphite or design marker for a more graphic look.

When you are finished with the contour lines, move your photograph to the side where you can use it as a reference photo.  Place a white piece of paper or board under your mylar.  

Now you can use watercolor, gouache or acrylics to paint the colors and details with.   You can also add colored pencil or design marker details if you like.  It is usually best to start with light areas and work up to dark.  I like to start with the skin and details on the person then move on to the clothing and background.  The above figure was a person with a  carnival costume.  I have not yet added a background. 

Inexpensive crayola watercolors do not work for painting on mylar.  They will bead up on the surface.  Some inexpensive tube watercolors or goauche will work or higher grade pan watercolors.  You can also try watercolor pencils and pastels.

Below is an adult student drawing with wonderful details.  The artist used line in a very expressive way.  She traced the contour lines with colored pencils and mixed watercolor and colored pencils together to create shading and color.

The image below illustrates the process.  A student has created contour lines of an image with two colors of colored pencil and is now filling in the detail with only colored pencil.  The result is quite striking. 

 

 

Experiment with different materials and see what works best for you technically and what you like visually.  You are the artist!